Consumers who own and use wireless two-way communication devices, such as smart phones, personal digital assistants or PDAs, hand-held devices, and other two-way communication devices, are constantly looking for new ways to use that device to interact with one's surroundings and/or receive information about their surroundings or specific items in a certain range. In addition, consumers do not want to purchase, rent or carry additional devices other than their primary device mostly based on convenience. It is this desire that has caused the dramatic increase in device applications or software “apps” that allow the user to accomplish additional tasks on a smart phone.
For example, a tourist who wants to tour a museum. The tourist will pay a fee to enter the museum, buy a guidebook and/or rent an electronic device that contains an education program on the artwork in the museum. The tourist then walks around the museum listening to the recording. The tourist must control the recording depending on where he/she is in the museum. The tourist follows a specified path, since the recording is fixed and cannot be changed based on location without rerecording the updated information.
There are conventional systems that utilize the user's smart phone in some way. For example, there are conventional systems that require the wireless-enabled device to scan for WiFi™ transceivers and many wireless-enabled devices are not available in response to the scan mode. In this instance, the wireless-enabled device is not able to detect the presence of transceivers. On the other hand, other smart phones may not be able to “know” or “comprehend” the relative position of nearby transmitters or able to correct WiFi™ protocol.
Another issue with many conventional devices is the requirement of additional hardware by the smart phone user. Solutions such as Active Bat™, for example, may require a special sound receiver and transmitter. Other WiFi™ GPS or global positioning systems solutions such as Sky Hook™ utilize standard WiFi™/GPS hardware which may provide a ten to twenty meter accuracy, and may not be very accurate for a moving or roving user in a large room with other users.
One additional piece of the puzzle is the information that is being accessed. As mentioned with the museum example outlined above, user may access a pre-taped recording organized in accordance with a specific path through the museum. Other conventional systems may require users to press a button or activate a recording at the site of each individual piece of art or interesting item. Obviously, this solution is problematic, because tourists are constantly arriving at or leaving a piece of art, and so, if someone arriving at the piece of art presses the button to activate the site recording, another arriving late will not hear it from the beginning Some conventional solutions link to web pages.
Many conventional solutions may not track interest expressed in a particular object and/or the time spent in front of that object by each individual observer. Other conventional solutions may not allow the tourist or observer to get targeted information and/or promotional items based on the time spent in front of the artwork. For example, it would be ideal if a system were produced that sent the observer a note about a sale on Monet posters in the gift shop, if the observer spent a lot of time looking at the Monet collection. Current solutions also lack the ability to manage information in diverse formats and to allow users to record interests in specific objects.
Furthermore, there are global positioning systems (GPS) and related software that allow a user or operator to get some information about a particular location. For example, when a driver is operating an automobile with GPS, the system will show the operator what restaurants or gas stations are at the upcoming exits. While the driver may arbitrarily decide to exit and pick the first restaurant, there is no information that can be transmitted to the restaurant as to whether the driver searched for that restaurant or restaurant chain, what that driver ordered when he/she stopped, whether the driver used the drive-thru window or came inside of the restaurant, and other information that may help the restaurant or restaurant chain better market to consumers. There is a need for solutions for pushing out promotions to the prospective consumers based on their previous preferences coupled with their immediate proximity to their desired restaurant or gas station chains.
In a smaller environment, a trade show may have a hundred company booths with booth attendants who are trying to get someone to stop, chat, provide a business card and ideally, purchase what the company is selling. Trade show booths usually put out a fishbowl for business cards using a giveaway item as an enticement for the attendee to stop and talk or provide a business card. One of the new methods of getting information from attendees is for the booth workers to scan the badge of the attendee with a wireless scanner. This process results in a report being communicated to the company of additional information not usually found on a normal business card. Additional information may include what products the attendee is interested in, what journals the attendee reads, what type of business the attendee is in and other specific information provided by the attendee when registering for the tradeshow or provided to the organizing entity earlier.
There is a need for method of tracking attendees from booth to booth, whether they approach a particular booth, determining how long attendees linger at a booth, and whether they visit the booth multiple times and other information that may help the companies involved in the trade show. Consequently, there is a need in the arts for one or more systems that meet the needs and desires of both the consumer and the transmission-controlling entity, such as a museum, trade show, restaurant, sporting venue, retail outlet, theme park, hospital or any other suitable business.
Specifically, there is a need for wireless information communication and delivery systems that provide improved communication between transceivers and wireless-enabled devices based on software applications and between transceivers and wireless-enabled devices provide a wireless network that has transceivers having several modes of operation. For instance, reduced or limited interference mode that allows transceivers to establish communication with localized wireless enabled devices or a distant access mode for communication with distant wireless access points. Other needs may include for enhanced user experience including combining the configurable transceiver with a modified protocol or improved accuracy of the transmission of communication to the user as he/she moves around an environment. Still other needs including utilize the information and experiences of other users to add information and improve accuracy of the information and experience and/or utilize the information transmitted by other users to improve the information related to the distance above, below and around the observer. For example, a need for a novel system that can manage various formats of information, along with including the ability to search through the information system's history by using sophisticated and up-to-date search mechanisms and can provide promotional items or other information to a user based on the user's tracking input.